


What If He Is Back?

by thebestoflost



Category: Lost
Genre: Friendship, Friendship/Love, Multi, Pre-Relationship, Sad, Scary
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:28:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28187691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebestoflost/pseuds/thebestoflost
Summary: After spending some hard time with the Others, some of Kate's traumas are back. She has to deal with all of them now, but it will be difficult to do it alone.- In Progress
Relationships: Kate Austen/James "Sawyer" Ford/Jack Shephard
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

Juliet walked quickly, her eyes darting across the beach. She might not be Kate's best friend, but she did notice how strange the girl had been these past few days.

 _\- "Have you seen Kate?"_ \- She asked Sun, and was answered by a shake of the head.

 _\- "Why? Is everything okay?"_ \- The Korean immediately asked.

- _"Yes, this one. I just needed her help with something, thanks."_ \- Juliet started walking again, before more questions could be asked.

The blonde noticed how a week or so ago Kate was barely eating. The look she had in her eyes, as if she were always alert, afraid of something imminent. And now since this morning, the brunette had disappeared.

What Juliet least wanted to do was ask Jack or Sawyer. The reaction they would have was not going to be good, and what everyone needed less now was more drama.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
**5 days ago**

Kate readily agreed to fetch more mangoes when Locke asked for it, she was already used to it and bringing fruit to the beach had kind of become her job. She couldn't be happier, Kate loved helping and feeling useful in some way.

It was the first time that she had gone back to climbing trees since she managed to escape the Others. That had been such a strange time, it was almost as if it hadn't been real. A real village on a deserted island, well, maybe it wasn't that deserted. The way they treated her and Sawyer, like caged animals. All the trauma since she had breakfast in the morning with Ben, until she watched Juliet kill a man in front of her.

Jack was no longer acting the same, and not even Sawyer. It was not so difficult to understand. She had hurt Jack by being with Sawyer, and she had also hurt Sawyer for the same reason.

So many thoughts crossed Kate's mind when she heard a noise, someone was following her.

 _\- "Come out, Sawyer. I know you're there."_ \- The brunette rolled her eyes, impatient for him to always spy on her. The noise continued, however, and no one came. _\- "Sawyer?"_

Kate turned quickly when she noticed someone's presence. A tall man, wearing a flannel shirt, was staring at her. A small crooked smile appeared on his lips. She recognized him immediately, and her heart raced. _\- "How are you here?"_ Kate asked in a broken voice.

The man broke into a smile. _\- "You are beautiful."_ -That choked voice, the same voice, the same sentence he had said to her so many times, the last sentence that came out of his lips before she killed him.

On impulse, Kate ran like never before. Nothing else mattered, she didn't remember the mangoes, she just wanted to get away from him.

Short of breath, the brunette arrived on the beach. Everything seemed so normal there, so safe.

_\- "What the hell did you see to get here so fast?"_ \- Sawyer asked her sarcastically, almost chuckling.

Kate shook her head, she wasn't going to tell him. Especially after Wayne had appeared to her before, on James' body. _\- "Nothing, I just wanted to get there fast."_

_\- "Did you get the fruits, Kate?"_ \- Locke asked in a kind voice. Aaron had not been well and the only thing the baby could eat was fruit.

That was when Kate remembered the mangoes. She looked at her bag and most of the fruit had fallen on the way. _\- "I ... Some of them fell on the way."_ Kate offered the bag to John to get the remaining mango.

_\- "What's going on, Freckles?"_ \- Sawyer frowned. _\- "You are acting weird ..."_

_\- "It's okay, Aaron doesn't need more than one fruit."_ \- Locke smiled at Kate and took the single mango that was lying in the bag. _\- "Thanks, Kate"_ \- The bald man walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

**3 days ago**

_\- "Aren't you coming to dinner, Kate?"_ \- Hurley asked as he passed the girl's tent. _\- "Today we're going to have spaghetti, Jin found a dharma box full of noodles, it was at the bottom of the stock."_

 _\- "I'll be right away, thanks."_ \- The brunette forced a smile. Since she had seen Wayne, she hadn't been comfortable. It was as if she felt him watching her all the time. She had never seen him on the beach, but she avoided being alone. Kate hadn't been very hungry since then, and sleeping was the hardest part for her. Good for her that Sawyer had invited her to sleep with him the previous two nights. When she realized that everyone was walking towards the kitchen, she quickly headed for the same place.

They were all putting food on their plates, and going to their tents to eat with their friends. That was what basically happened every night. Kate used to eat with Sawyer, but she looked around in an attempt to find him. He was not there.

Within minutes Kate found herself alone in the beach kitchen, and it terrified her. The brunette looked around again. Charlie was with Claire and Aaron, Hurley was with Desmond and Sayid, Sun was with Jin and Jack with Juliet. A loud sigh came out of her mouth, followed by a lip bite.

Kate was putting food on her plate, when someone approached and she accidentally dropped the plate, a small scream of fright.

 _\- "Kate, it's me."_ \- Jack chuckled, and moved even closer to her. The laughter ended just as he noticed Kate's eyes filled with tears as she tried to pick up the food that had fallen on the floor. _\- "Hey, are you all right?"_ He asked worriedly.

 _\- "Yes I'm fine."_ \- She tried to hide her tearful voice and went on her knees to clean up the mess she made with the food.

 _\- "Leave the food there, its just sand, all you have to do to clean it is to throw sand over it."_ \- He tried to talk in a playful way but Kate didn't seem to be in the mood. _\- "What's going on? Talk to me."_ \- Jack was still upset with her but if there was something wrong he wanted to fix it.

 _\- "It's all good, I said I'm fine."_ \- She said coldly and stood up. _"- You can just go back to dinner with her."_ \- Kate let out a hint that she was jealous.

 _\- "Hold on, is that the reason why are upset?"_ \- Jack put one hand on Kate's shoulders, so that she turned and looked at him.  
_\- "No, it's not! Let me go!"_ \- The tears the girl was holding are falling heavily now. Jack grabbed her by the wrist, and Kate moved around trying to get rid of his grip. - _"Just leave me alone!"_ \- She nearly yelled.

He pulled her close and hugged her, just as he had done a few months ago. Kate's sobs were strong, and Jack gently stroked her back. _\- "Hey, you know that I'm here for you, don't you? If something is wrong, please tell me."_ Jack looked into the girl's green wet eyes. _\- "Can you do that?"_ She nodded her head in agreement. _\- "Alright, so let’s sit here to talk."_ \- The doctor camly directed her to the big table that was in the middle of the makeshift kitchen, and helped her to sit down. He sat next to her.

 _\- "Is everything alright?"_ \- A female voice caught the attention of two of them, it was Juliet.

Kate immediately looked down, she didn't want anyone else to see her crying. Jack nodded to his friend.

_-"Yes, we are just talking."_ \- He smiled and gave Juliet a look that she soon understood. He wanted some privacy.

_-"Let me know if you need anything, okay?”_ – The blonde smiled, she knew how Jack has been handling so many problems lately, and the last thing he needed was one more.

The doctor nodded once more. _– “I will.”_ – As Juliet walked away he turned to Kate once more. _– “So...what’s making you upset?”_ – He asked looking at her eyes again, she didn’t say a word. _– “Kate, please… talk to me.” ___

After some seconds, the girl finally decided to talk. _– “ I think Im going crazy.”_ – Jack frowned and slightly shook his head.

_-“ Why is that?”_ \- He asked intrigued.

 _-“ Because Im seeing things Im not supposed to see.”_ – Kate explained between a sob an another.

_-“ What do you mean, Kate?” – It was too confusing for him and she was not being cleared enough._

_-“Like people that aren’t supposed to be here.”_ -She finally looked at him and wiped her tears.

Jack frowned once more and affectionately grabbed her hands, slowly caressing it with his thumbs. _\- “You remember the day Joanna die?”_ – The girl nodded and he kept going. _– “I saw my father that day, and he was dead. It turned out later I was just exhausted.”_ \- His eyes wouldn’t stop looking at her. _– “Have you slept well?”_ \- He asked in a medical tone now.

_\- “ No, but I only stopped sleeping after I started to see it.”_ \- Kate hold her cry and Jack squeezed her hands.

\- “I can give you a mild sedative, it might help you to sleep properly.” She didn’t answer and he never took his eyes off of her. _– “What do you think?”_ – He asked once more.

_\- “I don’t like taking medicine.”_ \- She confessed and that answer made Jack sigh.

_-“Kate, that’s barely medicine, it’s a very mild—”_

_“Hey, Freckles!”_ \- Sawyer interrupted Jack when he showed up. He turned his eyes to Jack. _“- Why is that she needs medicine?”_ – The conman asked curiously.

_-“She cant sleep.”_ – Jack answered dryly, letting go of Kate's hands

Sawyer grabbed a cereal box and started to eat it using his hands. _– “She does sleep. She sleeps in my tent every night recently, right, Freckles?”_ – A smirk showed up on his face, he wanted to tease Jack. And he got it. Jack was clearly annoyed, and even avoiding to look at Kate.

Kate sighed. _– “ I don’t sleep the whole night, not even close.”_ – She said a bit embarrassed that now Jack knew she was sleeping with Sawyer. They haven’t had sex since the cages, but the doctor was for sure thinking they do have it every night after Sawyer's declaration.

 _-“Well but that’s because—”_ He barely started and Kate interrupted him.

 _-“Don’t even start it, we haven’t done anything besides sleeping.”_ -The criminal glanced at Jack, she wanted him to make sure he knew nothing happened.

 _-“Easy there, I was just gonna say its because we talk, geez..”_ \- He said with his mouth full of cereal, finishing to chew them. _\- “But since you seem so worried about what Jackass might think maybe you show go sleep on your own tent tonight.”_ \- He shrugged. Sawyer had no idea what was going on with her even though he had a hint she was not acting completely normal lately.

 _“Maybe I should.”_ – She said with a tearful voice, but trying to hide it at all cost.

 _“Alright! Good night, Freckles.”_ Sawyer said as he turned to walk away. _\- “Doc.”_ He nodded to him as saying goodbye, and finally headed to his tent.

Jack turned to Kate and shook his head, he was still mad about her sleeping with Sawyer. _-“You can come to me to get the sedative, if you want.”_ He told her dryly, actually way more dryly that he intended to. _“Good night, Kate.”_


	3. Chapter 3

**2 Days Ago**

As expected, Kate did not sleep more than an hour that night. As much as she wanted to go and ask for the sedative that Jack mentioned, her pride was greater.

Most of the night, Kate stayed awake, either because she had nightmares, or because she simply couldn't fall asleep back. Her head hurt like hell and her eyes were heavier than ever. She had never felt so tired before.

Kate dragged herself out of her tent, into the makeshift kitchen. Yesterday she ended up eating nothing at all and her stomach growled loudly by now.

 _\- "Morning."_ \- Kate said as she noticed Rose and Bernard were having breakfast there already.

\- _\- "Good morning! Are you okay, honey?"_ \- Rose noticed the big dark circles around the girl's eyes.

\- _"Yes, I'm just a little tired."_ \- She explained, forcing a smile. Rose and Bernard looked at each other, the lady decided to get up.

\- _"Hey, sit down a little, let me prepare your breakfast."_ \- The black woman took Kate's arm to make her sit. _\- "What would you like to eat?"_

\- _"Rose, you don't have to do this, I'm fine, really." -_ In a weak voice she explained, although she knew that Rose's help was not a bad idea.

- _"Oh, I don't mind doing it. What would you like to eat?"_ – Once more she asked.

 _\- "Umm ... chocolate cookies."_ \- Kate simply said the first thing that came to her head, she was starving, she could eat anything.

Rose went to the shelves and looked for the box of cookies, specifically the chocolate ones. She quickly found it, and along with some milk served in an Oceanic bottle, she served the food for Kate.

\- _"Thanks, Rose."_ \- The brunette thanked forcing another smile and started to eat.

\- _"Aren't you sleeping well, Kate?"_ \- Bernard asked, puzzled.

The girl finished chewing before answering. - _"It was just a nightmare, I'll be fine."_ \- She took another bite of one of the cookies. Bernard nodded.

 _\- "Did you tell Jack?"_ The man asked, without taking his eyes off her. He knew what it was like to go without sleep, and Jack was a doctor, he could help.

 _\- "Why would I tell him?"_ \- Kate replied a little uncomfortable with the answer, and giggled to break the tension.

 _\- "Because ... he is a doctor, and you guys are closed."_ \- He shrugged. _\- "Don't mind me, I just thought it was a good idea."_

_\- "If she feels the need, I'm sure she'll go to Jack, right, Kate?"_ \- Rose spoke to both, and Kate nodded uncomfortably.

_\- "Thanks for the breakfast, I'll try to get some sleep."_ \- She got up, all she wanted less now was to talk. Her energy was almost zero. Kate barely got up and fell on the sand, it looked like everything was spinning around her.

Rose and Bernard ran towards the girl, to help her up but all Kate did was sit on the ground. The lady placed her hand on the criminal's forehead while she rubbed her eyes. - _"You are burning up."_ \- The black woman exclaimed surprised for not having noticed before.

 _\- "I'm fine, I just need to rest."_ \- Kate tried to explain but not even Bernard or Rose would hear her. She also tried to stand up but the woman didn’t let her.

 _-“Hey, you’re not trying to stand up to fall again.”_ \- Kate sighed with the woman's sentence.

\- _"I told you that telling Jack was a good idea."_ \- The gray-haired man spoke proudly. - _"I'm going to call him."_

 _\- "You don't have to! Really!"_ \- It was useless, Bernard had already run away, so Kate just looked at Rose.

 _\- "You're too stubborn."_ \- The criminal mentioned with an upset sigh.

_"Oh I know we are, but we are not only one, huh?"_ \- Rose gave Kate a motherly look. _\- "I saw you yesterday, and you were already tired. You could have told someone."_

- _"But I am fine, Rose."_ \- Kate tried to convince her and even herself one more time before Jack and Bernard were standing in front of her.

 _\- "Alright, let's take you out of the sun."_ \- Jack knelt and put his hands on the back of Kate's legs and on her back. _– “Thank you both.”_ He said to the couple before carrying her to his tent, the two did not say a word. It was still awkward since the last time they spoke. Kate could barely relax in his arms, she was tense all the time until Jack gently placed her on his bed.

He took a thermometer while Kate watched him. _\- "I'll take your temperature."_ The doctor explained, and carefully took the girl's right arm to fit the thermometer to her armpit. - You should lie down, you need to rest. "- He told her.

Jack was acting so cold that it made Kate want to cry. She held the cry in her throat, though, and remained seated as if he hadn't spoken to her.

After a minute that seemed like an eternity, the thermometer beeped and Jack gently removed it, checking her temperature. _\- "101.3 ° F"_ \- The doctor said trying to disguise his concern. _\- "Stay hydrated, and be sure to eat. Light foods are better fruits, vegetables."_ \- While explaining, he walked around the tent to get a bottle of water and gave it to Kate. _\- "And try to get some sleep."_ \- He added.

Kate opened her mouth to say something when Juliet suddenly appeared. - _"Are you ready to go?"_ -The blonde asked in a calm voice, looking quickly at Kate, who also looked at her.

 _\- "Yeah, I'm just finishing giving Kate some recommendations."_ -The doctor explained and took his bag.

 _\- "Wait, where are you going?"_ -Kate couldn't contain her curiosity. Her eyes desperately begging him to come along.

 _\- "To the medical station, get some supplies."_ -Jack told her still in a dry voice.

 _\- "Can I go too?"_ \- She barely asked and the man interrupted her.

 _\- "No, Kate, no."_ \- Jack seemed to have lost his patience. _-"I had to carry you here, you have a high fever. You stay, and rest."_ \- In a firm voice he gave no room for her to say anything else. _\- " So let's go?"_ -He asked Juliet and she agreed with her head.

 _\- "Yes let's go."_ \- She took one last look at Kate before they started walking.


End file.
